Race background

Current incumbent Deval Patrick, a Democrat first elected in 2006, was eligible to run for re-election in 2014. However, after winning re-election in 2010, Patrick stated that he would not seek a third term as governor in the 2014 election.[3][4]

Democratic nomination

The field of Democrats competing for their party's nomination in the primary, which took place on September 9, 2014, attracted several current officeholders. TreasurerSteven Grossman won the state Democratic convention on June 14, 2014, while Attorney GeneralMartha Coakley came in second. Physician Donald Berwick also secured a place on the primary ballot. Candidates Joe Avellone and Juliette Kayyem failed to achieve 15 percent of the convention backing to reach the primary ballot.[5][6] Coakley was the leading candidate in all polls against Grossman, but did not win over the party itself prior to the primary. Analysts posited that Coakley defeated Grossman based on higher name recognition. Party leaders were concerned she will not be able to win the general election. Grossman was the former chairman of the state and national Democratic parties.[7] Coakley defeated Grossman and Berwick in the September primary to reach the general election ballot.

Republican nomination

Daniel Wolf, a Republican state senator who announced his intentions to run early on, dropped out of the race after his campaign was suspended "indefinitely" since his Aug 2, 2013 disqualification by the Massachusetts Ethics Commission for being a stakeholder in an airline he previously founded, CapeAir. Since CapeAir is now a quasi-public agency whose board is controlled by the governor, the commission ruled Wolf's ties to be a violation of state conflict of interest prohibitions.[8][9] On September 19, the commission granted Wolf a second extension to his compliance deadline, beyond which he would be forced to resign his state senate seat and officially withdraw from the gubernatorial race.[10][11][12] The uncertainty about if and when he could resume campaigning resulted in Wolf's decision to officially withdraw from the race on October 21, 2013.
[13][14][15][10]

Charlie Baker, a venture capitalist who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2010, again won his party's nomination at the convention on March 22, 2014. The other Republican challenger, Mark Fisher, originally appeared to have narrowly missed an appearance on the primary ballot after failing to achieve 15 percent of the vote with just 14.765 percent, but after challenging the results in court the judge ruled that Fisher should be allowed to appear with Baker on the primary ballot.[16][17] The blank ballots that were cast at the convention were counted in the total, reducing the percentage that Fisher received just enough to push him off the ballot. Kirsten Hughes, the Massachusetts Republican party chairwoman, told the media after the convention that blanks should not count towards the total. She retracted that statement days later saying she misspoke.[18][19][20] Baker defeated Fisher in the Republican primary on September 9, 2014.

Baker had to defend his more moderate views as a Republican in order to distance himself from Coakley. Baker supports both abortion rights and gay marriage, a contrast to many views of his conservative Republican supporters.[21]

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round

Governor of Massachusetts 2014 Hypothetical Match-ups with Various Republican Candidates

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round